when you're ready to buy
 

how do you go about buying your frs? i want a specific color/tranny/options, so i've contacted a few local dealerships letting them know what i'm looking for. is there anything else i can do to find the car i'm looking for?

The dealers do get advance notice when they're going to receive a car. They're also told how the vehicle will be equipped (color, transmission, etc.).

All you can do is keep calling them on a fairly regular basis. I wouldn't trust them to let me know when a car of my choice is coming in. After all, they don't have to lift a little finger to sell these cars.

I just started calling Scion dealers telling them I was looking for a firestorm, manual. Sierra Toyoto/Scion told me they had one coming in about 3 weeks. Once they assured me it was refundable, I put a $500.00 deposit (credit card) on it right then and there.

They called me in a little over two weeks that it was there. I was there about an hour and a half later and I had my car.

yeah i really don't want to put a deposit down unless they know for sure they have the car i want coming in and can tell me when. i know they can't make direct orders to scion, so i don't like the idea of just plunking down a deposit and commiting myself to a dealer in a sense and waiting for it to randomly come in.

they can't keep your deposit if you want out. i had a deposit on an MT whiteout FRS but found a BRZ in the meantime. i told the salesman to credit my card the $500 deposit i gave them and he did. i don't think by law they can keep it.

Quoted for comprehension.

depends on the state, but generally,this is true!

I googled my local Scion dealer. They had a black AT FR-S on their website. I called them and made an appointment for that afternoon. Did a test drive and bought it. From reading some of the other posts about rarity and wait times, I think I lucked out.

There seems to be a substantial amount of people that were able to get their car below msrp. I'm guessing these are the people that were able to just walk in and get it vs order and wait?

What do you mean? I can't speak for Subaru, but Scion seems to use their "pure pricing" initiative. As in if you see a car online for a set price, that same exact car would the be same price in the dealership. No mark ups, etc. Aside from PDI and those sketchy "dealer fee's" that usually accumulate to about $100-200 total.

Unless you added options, why would ordering your car vs walking in and buying it change the price?:iono:

if i leave a deposit with a dealership, should i be asking for something in writing that it is refundable?

I just remember reading a thread where everyone talked about how long they had to wait and some people claimed they got lucky because they didn't and were able to walk in and pick one up without wait and below msrp. I know scion tends to be no haggle, that's why I was wondering if there is a correlation.

Ah, makes sense. I wish I was one of those lucky ones then :bellyroll:

Hahaha don't we all :D. Actually, I'm just hoping they still give me student discount because apparently that promotion expired a couple months ago :/

Yes, and to make sure it is refundable back to your original method of payment... Meaning that you may want to also make sure that they don't pressure or state for you to apply / transfer that $500 to another one of their vehicles (in order to keep your business with them ONLY).

You shouldn't have much trouble on a refundable deposit (speaking from my experience, at least) if you and the dealer have made a clear agreement... Legitimately stated on paper, which you can keep with you.

------------

In regards to the post(s) above you, I don't know of getting a price below MSRP (Scion's PURE Price). Scion's been pretty firm about their Pure Pricing rule, unless I've missed something here.

I paid $24,985 (inclusive of destination, which may vary according to location).

All the best. :)

Personally, I'm considering finding a gently used one when it comes time. It seems like there are a few FR-S's here and there priced in the mid 23's with 2-3k miles. For me, not having to deal with the hassle of a dealer and trying to find one that doesn't have all the crap tacked on (I've been finding Toyoguard, $300 window tint, Bespoke, all the junk I don't want), and then avoiding paying a $700 dealer processing fee for them to sell it to you is worth buying one with a couple thousand miles on it and saving $2-3k in the process.

Otherwise, it's likely I'll just be ordering one exactly as I want it to get the lowest price possible and hope that I can haggle my way out of paying the processing fee.

They mentioned a graduate discount to me at the dealership? I asked if being enrolled counted, they said you had to have your degree lol.

Considering the price of the car new is 24k, I'd still just buy new. I'm not sure of your location, but it was really easy to find an FR-S. I waited 2 weeks after my deposit to get my whiteout 6mt.

I think I'd just be nervous of what happened to the poor fr-s I bought that someone already decided to sell